Computational hypertext in biological modelling

Abstract

This paper describes an application of hypertext to a biological research problem. An individual energetics model for Cassin's Sparrow was developed in which the computations and intellectual activities associated with each phase of the research were performed within an integrated hypertext environment. The study demonstrates the effectiveness of computational hypertext in meeting the personal information management requirements of individual researchers in the natural sciences and its ability to speed the dissemination of research results within a community of scholars. Most important, the study shows how hypertext can be "phased in" to support traditional scholarship in disciplines that are otherwise slow to respond to emerging computer technologies..